This invention relates to hair care compositions. More particularly, this invention relates to hair conditioning compositions which are especially useful for conditioning hair by leaving it in a pleasing and satisfactory, soft, lustrous and easily manageable condition. In a more specific aspect, this invention relates to aqueous, homogenous and conditioning shampoo compositions which exhibit outstanding cleaning characteristics, as well as being characterized by an outstanding capacity for conditioning cleaned hair.
It is well known that simple aqueous detergent compositions are useful for the cleansing of hair by promoting the removal of soil and excess natural oil. For practical use shampoo compositions must not dull the hair by removing all of the natural oils from the hair nor damage it by harsh detergent action. In addition, it must provide lather in both hard and soft water and be sufficiently stable so that it does not deteriorate on standing or in the course of normal use. In most detergent compositions now in use the removal of natural oils to a greater or lesser extent is unavoidable as a part of the cleansing action, as is some hair damage as a result of the action of detergent. Furthermore, shampoo compositions which thoroughly clean the hair usually leave it in a statically electrified state, in which the individual hairs repel each other, or in a state in which simple combing produces this undesired electrification. In either case, the hair is very difficult to manage. To overcome these defects, chemists in the field of hair treatment have vigorously explored alternative or complementary shampoo and hair conditioning systems. For example, in many conventional shampoo compositions, it is customary to include an additive such as a lanolin derivative, glycol, fatty esters or protein in an effort to condition the hair by replacing the stripped oils so as to leave the hair more manageable and natural after shampooing. Unfortunately, when these derivatives are incorporated directly into a shampoo, they may cause a loss of sudsing, sheen, and leave the hair with a sticky and unnatural feeling. Alternatively, a variety of products such as cream rinses, conditioners, weave sets and hair sprays, containing antistatic agents, conditioning agents and the like, have been developed for use after shampooing to counteract the adverse effects of shampooing on the hair and to return its sheen, combability and wave set retention and to reduce flyaway hair. It is obvious that the use of these additional materials is naturally necessarily expensive and requires additional time and effort involving additional application and treatment of the hair on the part of the users.
It is an object of this invention to provide a hair conditioning composition which may be used subsequent to shampooing or, alternatively, may be used in conjunction with a detergent in a shampoo composition.
It is an additional object of this invention to provide a stable conditioning shampoo composition to be used without a subsequent conditioning treatment.
It is further an object of this invention to provide a conditioning shampoo composition which exhibits excellent cleansing and lathering properties along with excellent conditioning properties to impart sheen, manageability and wave set retention to the cleansed hair.
It is another object of this invention to provide a post-shampooing composition which conditions hair by leaving it in a pleasing and satisfactory, soft, lustrous and easily manageable condition.
Other objects and advantages will become readily apparent from the following description and appended claims.